Abby changed her normal run to go past the Buy & Bye, the supermarket where the owner, Henry Biller, gave her three shifts a week during the winter and six during the summer.

When she walked in, Henry, a solid man with ruddy cheeks and a gentle smile, was running a broom over an already spotless floor.’

‘I don’t think that floor’s getting any cleaner,’ she said.

‘If you’ve got time for leaning you’ve got time for cleaning,’ Biller said with a smile. ‘You’re three hours early for your shift, by the way.’

‘I was on my way past and thought I’d pick up my pay so I can get to the bank before it closes. Anyway, would you let me work if I turned up looking like this?’

He took in her rain-drenched, sweat-soaked hair.

‘Good point,’ he said. ‘Can you watch the store while I run to the safe?’

He dusted his hands off on his apron and slipped through the plastic flaps at the back of the store that led to the receiving bay. There was no need for her to watch the store while he was gone. Aside from her, it was empty.

The supermarket wasn’t huge, but the shop floor was laid out to make the most of the space. There were twelve aisles, and in a fit of optimism Henry had installed seven check-outs, though they rarely needed more than two. There were three short lanes of shopping trolleys and a large liquor department in the top-right corner. The place was stocked to bursting point over summer, but Biller let the stock run down at this time of year.

A bitterly cold wind swept off the bay, howling up the rugged, rocky slopes of the island, strong enough to shake the glass-fronted wall of the store. Beyond the window – Grocery/Liquor/Bait! spelled out backwards on the glass – the bay was wild and dark.

‘Could be another big one,’ Biller said when he’d returned.

‘Nah, we won’t get another big storm for the rest of the season,’ Abby said. ‘This island can only handle so much excitement.’

Biller handed her a yellow envelope. He paid in cash to keep it off the books. ‘It’s a little light. It’s that time of year. Mind if I fix the rest up next week?’

Abby hesitated a moment. She might have told him things were tight all over the island and that the Gilpin household was no exception, but instead she nodded and stuffed the money into her sports bra. ‘Funny, I was going to ask if there were any extra shifts going.’

He wet his lips and pushed his hands into the pockets of his apron.

‘I’m sorry, Ab.’

‘No big deal,’ she told him. ‘It’s the price for nine months of peace, right?’

‘That’s what we keep telling ourselves.’